According to group, though it is laudable to note that Ghanaians did not waver in showing the past government the exit, it was also essential that the larger question of accountability was tackled.

Speaking at a press conference in Accra, Mr. Kwesi Pratt Jnr. a leading member of the CJA said it was not enough to vote out a corrupt regime but allow its officials and functionaries to escape public accountability.

Mr. Pratt Jnr. suggested that public officials of the past regime who were cited for various corrupt practices must be made to face the full rigors of the law without fear or favour.

He articulated the hope that the Atta Mills administration would honour the promises made to the people of Ghana by conclusively dealing with the issues of corruption and maladministration raised by the CJA.

The group further made an appeal to the government to re-examine all the cases raised by the CJA and make sure that every pesewa lost to the Ghanaian tax payer was recovered.

“We wish to put it beyond doubt that we shall measure the President Mills-led NDC government by the same yardstick we used to measure the New Patriotic Party (NPP) when they were in power,” he added.

They alleged that in eight ministries under the NPP government, money amounting to GH¢ 440,814,014,679 was lost to the public in 2005 as a direct result of a combination of factors including corruption, maladministration, incompetence and sheer negligence.
The CJA had over the past few years accused the NPP administration of corruption and maladministration as a result various audit reports from the Auditor General and Public Accounts Committee.

The group cited various corrupt practices at the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and NEPAD and the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing.

He said there were also doubtful payments at the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Trade and Industry, and Ministry of Tourism and Diasporan Relations.

According to Mr. Pratt Jnr., the group is looking forward to the reduction in fuel prices and taxes as promised by President Mills during the campaign to.

Mr. Kwesi Pratt Jnr. reiterated that the NDC government must also ensure that all state lands, buildings and other properties illegally sold to former government officials and members of the NPP were returned to the state.

He further advised the Mills administration to carry out meticulous investigations into the conditions surrounding the sale of 70 per cent shares of Ghana Telecom to Vodafone with the critical aim of re-evaluating the transaction.

Ghanadot